Women’s Day is an opportunity to look beyond tokenism and assess how far Indian sport has come in the effort to make it a truly level playing field. Here we get insights from five of India’s leading female athletes on the biggest challenge they have faced growing up as athletes and the change they would like to see.
SANIA MIRZA
I think as young women on our side of the world, when you do something outside the box, we are told more often that we can’t do it than we can. The moment you choose something that is different (there are questions) ‘you can’t do it, what makes you think you can do it?’
That’s a social thing that we all deal with in different layers and different professions. But at one point, all the women will come up and say yes, I dealt with this and someone said, ‘Oh, why do you want to be this? Why aren’t you just this? They always tell us what to do.
And the fact that being an athlete really isn’t the most natural choice for a lot of young girls because they think playing in the sun will make you dark, you’ll turn into a tomboy, you’ll have to play with boys, chaddi pehenke kheloge (you will have to play in your underwear).
This kind of thing is slowly changing, but I’m talking about 30 years ago, when I started, you can only imagine what it used to be like. So I think that’s why when an Indian athlete achieves something, she’s not only fighting on the court or on the field, but she’s also fighting her chances off the field because of the kind of high pressure that comes with society’s norms. .
I think that’s probably the most challenging. I would love for that to change, equal opportunities should be the most important thing.
VANDANA KATARIYA
I come from a small town near Haridwar called Roshanabad. The first hurdle was financial. My two sisters and I used to play hockey and we had to share one pair of shoes. Once I got serious about hockey, I decided to leave.
I had a lot of support from my parents, but the townspeople talked about me. They said why should he play, why should he study, he has to grow up and do roti like everyone else. All of that used to go on, so I wanted to leave. And I never wanted to go back to town.
(What change would you like to see?) Family support. When I started playing, I didn’t even know I could go this far, but it’s the support of my family that got me here. But I see so many other girls in my town and other places, who can’t even think of doing what they want. They can’t even discuss it with their parents. Everyone needs a support system, not just athletes. The mindset of parents must change for women in general and especially female athletes to do well in life.
MITHALI RAJ
The (biggest challenge is) the general perception of people in India towards female athletes, taking the sport as a race for women. I’ve seen a big change in that perspective in recent years, since female athletes started doing well and medaling in all disciplines. Also, backed by the Indian government, the various campaigns have made a huge difference in the lives of some athletes.
It would change the way people compare women’s sports to men’s. The change of corporations investing more in female athletes as brand promoters, ambassadors.
People should see sport as sport and not differentiate between men’s and women’s football, those things should not enter sport. Look at it because every athlete, male or female, spends the same amount of time training, the female probably has much greater challenges because of the way our society views sports for women, but again, the kind of challenges that a athlete on the field is similar. so timid the difference of perspective when seeing it?
VINA PHOGAT
It is important that the heads of the federation discuss things with the athletes: what tournaments they want to play, what the coach is like… everything is imposed on us, things are told to us, nothing is discussed. When we talk about pressure at elite level, there is already a lot of pressure on us and we can live without more pressure from the federation.
We talk a lot about mental health now. When an athlete doesn’t do well, or when we say we can’t do this or that, it’s not an excuse. It’s because we really can’t do this or that. It is not a sign of weakness, as is claimed. In fact, it’s because I’m strong that I stand up and say I can’t do it. If I had been weak, I would have kept quiet.
If a female athlete says something, it should be handled sensitively and not ignored. That is the support we need. We have the support of our families, but we also need this kind of emotional support, at the federation level and in the national camps.
When an athlete raises his voice about something bad that is happening, we should all do it, it is necessary to trust him. If we top athletes raise our objection about something, it must be true. We can’t be running from door to door. All athletes must be together. We must stick together. If I say that this has happened, I must expect the support of my colleagues.
RANI RAMPAL
The first thing is to have women in sports federations.
If women play sports at the highest level and bring glory to India, why can’t women be represented in sports federations? Women have their unique requirements and it is easier for women to talk to other women. There are things we cannot discuss with men. Especially when you’re not doing well.
When things are going well, everyone supports you. It’s when you’re low that you need support. If someone sits with you, spends five or ten minutes and asks you, shows concern, asks what’s wrong, it helps a lot. The player will definitely get up and start training again.
They judge us too quickly. That is wrong. We are trying to be better, trying to be stronger. We need kindness and support.
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Sania Mirza, Mithali Raj and Vandana Katariya spoke exclusively to ESPN.in; Vinesh Phogat and Rani Rampal spoke to the media during the Trailblazers Sports Conclave, organized by RevSportz.
